Ingredients
1/2 pound Beef, Veal or Pork Brains
1 1/2 teaspoons White Vinegar
1 teaspoon Salt
2 Tablespoons Butter
4 Beaten Eggs
2 Tablespoons Whole Milk or Half & Half
Salt and Pepper to Taste
Directions:
Cover brains with cold water, add the vinegar and soak for 30 minutes. Drain. Remove any loose fatty membrane and any pieces of bone that may have slipped in there. Cover the brains with water again, add the teaspoon of salt, and simmer 20 to 30 minutes. Drain and immediately chill in cold water to stop any further cooking. Chop the brains into pea size or larger chunks and set aside. Combine the eggs, milk (I prefer Half & Half, but that’s just me) and pour into a medium warm skillet with the melted butter. Fold in the chopped brain pieces, salt and pepper to taste, and cook 5 to 8 minutes, moving occasionally with a wooden spoon or spatula to keep from over cooking on the bottom. Remove from the heat when the eggs are just firm.
To be honest, when my son brought brains to the house the first time for us to cook…I really didn’t think there was a way I could bring myself to ever look at them…let alone taste them. They are just ugly and there is no getting around that fact. To make matters worse, growing up, I didn’t think we were supposed to eat the icky parts of an animal.
But when you get right down to it…there are really no pretty animal parts…just good tasting ones.
Sadly, for years, I truly thought chicken and meat came from the grocery store…I never connected the dots that they were animals provided by God for us to enjoy. Times have definitely changed for me, and thankfully now, I try to make myself taste every part of the animal…letting no part go to waste. I will try anything once…maybe never again…but at least once.
We moved from California, after living there 40 years, to a small farm in VA. While living there, we raised a small head of cattle, which we gave “meat” names like Quarter Pounder, Big Mac and Spencer to name a few. We also threw in a few names after loved ones, like Amanda after my husbands niece, Maxine after my momma and her baby Cheesecake because she was totally white and my momma makes the best cheesecake ever. We also raised and slaughtered our pigs, and chickens….which is a huge job by the way. Plucking feathers is a whole lot of work. Something I think every child should have the experience of doing. It gives you a huge appreciation of grocery stores and what they have readily packaged for us.
I’ve transgressed, so getting back to the subject, when you cook brains with scrambled eggs, the combined textures are velvety smooth and creamy…you may not only be surprised, but may end up loving it.
Sprinkle grated sharp cheddar cheese over the top and serve as you would regular scrambled eggs. We like to eat them with warm corn tortillas, spicy Pico de Gallo and a little hot sauce. Yum
Brains getting a good soaking in water
Cook the brains first after cleaning all the bone chips out…pretty gross I know…and then fold them into beaten eggs and finish cooking just like you would scrambled eggs.
Some cooks like to finely chop the brains, but I find you lose the flavor and texture contrasts between the eggs and brains, which is really quite good.
We like to serve it in a warm corn tortilla with Pico de Gallo and of course some good hot sauce. If you can get past what you are actually eating…the taste is really very good. This is one of those things that I dreaded putting in my mouth, but I’m very glad that I did.
Are you brave enough to try this one?
